First of all I would like to apologize for such a delayed update... I was unwell for a while got better then got sick again... This nasty cold had me out for while but I am back and I promise that there will be regular updates from now on... Once again a special thanks to my reviewers and those who put this story on their alert and favourite list, your support means the world to me. This is my take on an alternate bratva universe, I don't have a beta so all possible spelling and grammatical errors are solely mine and I hope you guys do forgive me for the very many possible errors.

And most importantly… I don't own Arrow or any of the characters in it ….. I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes.

A special shout out to the lovely victoriaOlicity for the lovely art work for this story...

I

Thirty thousand feet and nearly a thousand miles separated her from the country that had turned her life upside down. She should be rejoicing, jumping up and down that she was still breathing and so was her father, at least she hoped so. The Bratva were big on keeping their word and she hoped her father was going to be kept alive until the status quo changed. She heaved a huge sigh, her legs were cramping and exhaustion seemed to be pulling her under. It had been nearly 48 hours since she got a good night's rest. She fought to keep her eyes open, she was sitting in one of the seats on the tail end of the Queen jet. She had specifically chosen this seat to avoid the bunch of people sitting in the front of the jet.

She knew she should be grateful, if not for him she and her father would be six feet under yet she was rather pissed off with Oliver's decisions. He had literally torn her life apart with his decisions. No matter how hard she tried the events that took place in the bratva headquarters could not be erased from her mind. She hoped with time the event would become a faint memory, somehow she doubted that would happen.

II

Five Hours Ago...

"I think you are right we should kill her." Oliver responded to Anatoly.

"An excellent decision, my boy." Anatoli responded cheerfully to Oliver's decision. She could feel the bile rising from her stomach, fear engulfed her.

Felicity stood there numb, the small hope that had sprung when she realized Oliver was the infamous Bratva captain was squashed to pieces when she heard his choice. Was Oliver really going to kill her? Her father protested loudly and was being restrained by his minions, Oh how times had changed for him. She saw that Sara looked worried, she had bonded with Sara for a little while and now the same step sister was going to stand witness for her execution. She rued her bad luck. Even the man behind Oliver looked uncomfortable with his decision.

Did Oliver want her to beg for her life? She was in shock and her body was refusing to obey her, it stood rooted to the place.

"I would like the honour sire." The perverted minion who had been eyeing her since they kidnapped her sought permission from Oliver. She shivered despite the room being terribly warm, was Oliver really going to let this happen to her?

She wondered what happened to the boy whom she knew. Admittedly it had been ten years since she saw him, but nobody could change so much.

Nobody had seen the Queen siblings after the Gambit accident. There was absolutely no trace of them, where they were, how they were, nothing was known. However they did resurface after five long years. Oliver Queen took over the reins of Queen consolidated; Thea Queen was still in an undisclosed location in Europe and from time to time photos of her partying around the globe surfaced keeping the press on their toes.

Tabloids went crazy when Oliver Queen took over his family's legacy, some of them even wrote that he would be the last Queen to rule the company and he was going to destroy the company.

Similarly people had expected Oliver to bankrupt the company; the shareholders had no faith in his administration. He had no college degree to speak of, no experience; all he had was his family's name. His reputation was proving to be damaging his career but he proved all his critics wrong, within a year he had earned the trust of his board members. He was decisive and cut throat when it came to his business, he was a charismatic leader and everyone loved working with him. He still maintained his playboy persona from his teen hood, Oliver Queen always had a new girl in his arms every few days. Even the press had lost interest in his dating history.

Despite of how things had ended between them Felicity couldn't erase his memories from her mind, she had kept tabs on Oliver. She was happy for him, he seemed to be doing well for himself. She always felt this uncomfortable pang whenever she went to Starling city to visit her mother. The city she had been consciously avoiding since the older Queen made his comeback but her mother always persuaded her into coming home for the holidays. She would always glance at the Queen consolidated building on her way home and wonder if he was in there.

She snapped back to the present, she wondered if this is where her story ended. In an unknown country far away from the people she loved.

"But." Oliver's thick voice jolted her from her thoughts.

"What's wrong Oliver?" Anatoli prodded him quickly.

"She is the head of Applied Sciences in Palmer Technology." He replied evenly to Anatoli.

"Isn't it the company you are trying to take over?" Anatoli asked him surprised by the new piece of information that was just offered to him.

"Yes and it would be extremely foolish of me to kill her now when I can use her to get what I want." He replied coldly.

"Ah! She seems to be useful after all." Anatoli grinned at her, he was pure evil.

"Strip Mikhail of his powers, place him under house arrest. He is the leverage that we need for her to do our bidding." He told Anatoli firmly. Anatoli seemed like he had just swallowed a very sour lemon.

She let out a silent sigh of relief, she was going to live to see another day and so was her father.

"It is your decision captain." Anatoli looked a little put out at Oliver's decision but he had given his word and he had to stand by it.

She was alright with all of Oliver's decision until she heard his next few words.

"She will be inducted into the bratva and marry someone from the brotherhood." He finished calmly.

At this Felicity was jolted into awareness.

"What? You can't do this." She cried out in protest. Her voice came out as a shrilly cry.

"It is either this or death the choice is yours." He told her squarely.

"This is unfair, I won't tell anyone please let me go." She complained in anger. Tears of frustration spilled onto her cheeks.

"You have no choice Felicity." He told her in finality.

"No!"

"No!" She whispered in vain.

III

And that's how she was on the Queen jet on her way to Coast city to say goodbye to the life that she knew. She saw Sara slowly making her way towards her; she feigned sleep as she got closer.

"I know you are not asleep." Sara mocked.

Felicity remained unmoved in her seat.

"This is childish." Sara moaned in exasperation. Felicity sighed, she knew it was juvenile. She gave up her pretence and opened her eyes.

Sara placed a food tray in front of her on the table and took the seat opposite to her. Felicity eyed the tray contemplatively, she was starving but she was still too angry at them.

"You need to eat." Sara told her gently.

"I am not hungry." She snapped.

"I am not sure that's true I could hear your stomach grumbling all the way in the front." She replied teasingly. Felicity was in no mood for jokes.

"I said I am not hungry." She responded stubbornly.

"I know you are angry and rightly so." Sara tried to comfort her.

"What I feel is beyond anger Sara." She bit back. Sara looked annoyed now, all her efforts at peace talks was being blocked by the blonde in front of her.

"We saved your life out there." Sara accused her.

"Saved my life for what? To force me into servitude?" She cried in fury.

"This life is not a curse Felicity." Sara responded sympathetically.

"It is for me, I have a life in Coast city that I am extremely happy in." Came in Felicity's infuriated reply.

"I promise it was the only way to save you." Sara responded with something akin to pity.

Felicity merely nodded her head suddenly drained of her anger.

"Why are you part of the Bratva Sara, how did you get into this? Does Quentin know about this?" Questions came barrelling out of Felicity, she had been too furious to think about them until now.

"I know you have all these questions that you need answers to, I promise to answer every single one of them but now is not the time for that." Sara responded carefully.

Felicity sighed in exasperation. She was being stonewalled everywhere.

"Please eat and get some rest I will wake you once we reach Coast city." Sara told her gently.

Even though she wanted to rebuff Sara's offer, she desperately needed food and some sleep. She had been running on pure adrenalin for the past two days. She reluctantly ate the food in front of her.

IV

Felicity didn't realize she had fallen asleep until she found Sara shaking her awake. The couch in the back was way too comfortable than she thought but she couldn't remember making her way down to it.

"Hey we are here." She told her softly.

"Thank you." She mumbled back. She wore her glasses and righted her hair which she was sure was sticking in thousand different directions. She walked to the front slowly stretching her legs. She was so focused on not stumbling down that she had missed noticing Oliver standing by the door for her.

She unceremoniously bumped into him, he recoiled from her like she had burned him. A flash of hurt passed through her but she was quick to rein it in. She stepped back to put some space between them.

"You know what to do?" Oliver asked her.

"Yep, say goodbye to the life that I know without raising suspicion. I think I got it." She bit back forcibly.

"Sara will drop you off at your place. You have until tomorrow." He told her.

She just nodded at him. When she tried to move past him, he held her back with a strong hold over her forearm.

"Don't do anything stupid Felicity I won't be merciful another time." He whispered in her ear raising Goosebumps all over her body. She turned to look into his eyes, she saw a dangerous glint in them.

She swallowed thickly before responding. "I won't." She whispered.

"Good."

She rushed down to the awaiting vehicle as soon as he released her. It was just mid morning in Coast city, she had plenty of time to get her things in order.

V

Sara's men were extremely efficient; her things in the apartment that she owned in Coast city were packed up within three hours.

She frantically stood there giving out directions that were not much heeded to. She had assured Sara she would deal with her landlord later in the day.

Her apartment looked too big when it was stripped bare of the belongings in it. There was a lone chair by the window in the living room.

She hesitantly fired a text to the person, who would be the one to get hurt the most by her actions.

"Hey I am back, we need to talk." She held her phone with apprehension. She knew he could be in a meeting or too absorbed in the lab to reply back but her phone chimed way too quickly than she expected.

"Wow that sounds dangerous." Came in his teasing reply.

"Are you too busy? Can you come home now?" She asked him, she wanted to be done with this. The longer she dragged it the more painful it was going to be.

"Ted Kord is here, I wish I could leave." She just remembered the meeting that she was supposed to be a part of, she groaned she was just a terrible employee. The company had been struggling for quite some time, the CEO's crazy inventions were sinking the company and Ted Kord was going to be their saviour.

"I am so sorry for making you do this alone." She apologized guiltily.

"Don't worry I intent to punish you for that." She gulped loudly when she read his text, a warm shiver ran through her.

"I have something to tell you." She texted him hesitantly.

"You stole my words, I will rush as soon as possible." A lone tear escaped her eye, she wasn't sure she could do this to him.

VI

"I am here, come up to the penthouse." Her phone chimed indicating the incoming message. She sighed miserably as she read the text. The skyline had turned dark long ago, she had been starring at them for hours today. It was the first time she had truly observed the Coast city skyline, she hadn't realized it was this beautiful. She cursed at all the missed opportunities.

Even though she had been dating Ray Palmer for the past four years, she hadn't moved in with him and being the understanding boyfriend he was he had let her have her independence. Two years ago he had bought her this apartment and bought himself the penthouse in the same building. She had protested furiously in the beginning but she had to give in, he had been a pretty incredible boyfriend and she hadn't wanted to push her luck anymore.

She looked around her apartment one last time, she was openly crying now, she was going to miss this place. She locked up behind her and pushed the key into her jean pocket, she needed to give them back to Ray.

She swiped her personal key card for his penthouse, she entered and she couldn't even see two feet ahead of her. She groaned irritably, Ray had a love for dark curtains and turning of the lights off when he needed to think. He had always jabbered about the darkness making his mind sharper.

She flicked the switch but did not get the expected result. The room should have been flooded with bright light, she had personally had them installed. There was no way there was something wrong with the fuse the building was way too posh for that. Did he bring one of his experiments home and fried the electrical board. She wondered if she could make it to the window without bumping into anything, it was a full moon today and she knew there would be plenty of light that would stream in through the windows. She closed the door behind her which was really a stupid move, now she could practically see nothing ahead.

"Ray?" She called out timidly.

The lights came on suddenly almost blinding her for a second.

Nothing had prepared her for the sight before her, Ray stood in the middle of the living room dressed to the nines and wearing the goofiest grin on his face.

The living room was devoid of any furniture except for a small dining table and two chair, the table was set, she immediately knew what this was.

"What's going on Ray?" She asked him cautiously.

"I am trying to do something that I failed twice before." He answered awkwardly, he ran a hand through his hair nervously. She wanted to run into his arms and soothe his doubts, the sinking feeling in her stomach was getting worse.

"Hub city." She whispered remembering the disastrous trip in the recent past where she had squashed all his plans, got into a fight with him and rushed back home without him. It was the time when she had discovered about Mikhail, it had not been a good week for her.

"Yeah that one was a major bust." He confirmed her suspicion, it was the first time he had tried to propose and all his plans had gone down the gutter.

"When was the other time?" Her voice came out as a broken cry.

"Paris." He chuckled.

They had to rush back early from their Paris trip because of a fire at one of the factories. Nobody was killed in the fire but millions worth of merchandise was destroyed in it. She merely nodded at Ray's answer.

He walked towards her and got on his knees in front of her. He took her hands in his and pulled out a ring from his pocket. She recognized the ring, it was his grandmother's ring and a family heirloom.

"Felicity Smoak the day you walked into my office is the happiest moment of my life; that moment changed me in ways I could have never imagined. I am a better man today because of you. I want you by side for eternity, marry me." He finished with a soft smile on his face. Felicity's heart was being torn to shreds, the moment that she had been anxiously expecting had come but she couldn't accept his proposal now, Oliver would kill Ray if she tried to tell him the truth, she had no doubt about that.

Tears streamed down easily from her eyes.

"I don't know what to say." She sobbed. Ray shifted uneasily, he was still on his knees.

"All you have to say is yes; I never meant to make you cry so much." He chuckled mischievously. She clenched her teeth, she prepared herself to break his heart.

"I can't do this Ray." She told him bitterly, as she pulled her hand away from him.

Confusion flooded his handsome face; he stood up to tower over her.

"What do you mean by you can't do this?" He asked in a panic filled voice.

"I tried very hard Ray but I can't do this anymore, please let me go." She told him apologetically. She stepped back from his touch, it broke her heart to see the man she loved in so much pain.

"I am sorry for pushing marriage so suddenly, we can take our time about it. I am sorry for spooking you." He ran a hand through his hair helplessly. He tried to hug her which she easily manoeuvred out of.

"No Ray." She cried in response.

"We don't have to rush, we can do this when you feel comfortable." He pleaded.

"You are not listening Ray, I am done." She yelled shocking him into silence.

He sauntered slowly towards her and jerked her towards him. His grip on her shoulders was turning to be quite painful, she clenched her fist to keep herself from crying out loud.

"You are done?" He demanded in anguish.

"You are hurting me please let me go." She sobbed, his grip on her eased and he looked regretful of his actions.

"I am so sorry." He apologized.

There was a moment of silence between them, neither of them having the will or the energy to speak.

"Why Felicity? I thought you were happy with me." He asked her, his voice filled with hurt and anger.

"I thought I was happy too but you are not enough Ray, I need to find what is." She tried hard not to choke on her words. That was the killing blow, she knew that she had hurt him in the worst possible way.

Ray Palmer was born to two highly intellectual and rich human beings, who considered inventing and making money more important than their son. He was never enough for them, he yearned for their love and affection. Felicity knew this and used it to hurt him. A resigned look took over his face.

"So that's it?" He asked her sarcastically.

"I have mailed HR my resignation." She informed him gently.

"Wow you do move quickly." He snapped. "Did you ever truly love me Felicity." He asked her spitefully.

"You know I did Ray." She cried out in protest and disappointment.

"I don't believe you." He bit back.

Felicity bit her trembling lips, she didn't want cry anymore.

"Ray I never expected us to end up like this." She told him honestly.

She placed her apartment key and the key card to his penthouse on the table near the door, Ray watched her movements with disbelief. Just an hour ago he was one of the happiest men on this planet and now he truly didn't know who he was.

A life without Felicity seemed like a prison sentence to him, he couldn't imagine how he would ever get over her. Felicity cried all the way down to her car, she couldn't believe that she had done that to Ray. Ray had been nothing but kind and loving to her, she had betrayed his love, she had betrayed his trust.

VII

She had spent the night in the arms of one Caitlyn Snow, she had cried until she could cry no more. Caitlyn and Barry did not understand her sudden choice to go back to Starling, a city she had been avoiding since college but they understood her need for space from Ray but what they didn't understand was why it had to happen so quickly.

She had lied effortlessly of how she needed her mother right now. Her friends were given no choice but to agree with her.

Barry drove her to the tarmac. She wore thick sunglasses to protect her swollen eyes. She kissed her friends goodbye before she got into the jet.

Oliver was waiting for her by the door. She tried to ignore him and move past him but he wouldn't let her. He stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, she flinched in pain. She had two very dark bruises on her shoulders. Oliver looked at her in speculatively before he pulled his hand away.

"Did everything go according to plan?" He asked her, his voice was rich with sleep.

"Yes." She snapped. She became extremely irritable when he still wouldn't let her pass through.

"Are you sure no one suspected you." He demanded. That was the breaking point for her.

"No one suspects me, everything went according to your stupid plan. I shattered my life into a million different pieces yesterday. Are you happy now?" She yelled at him unable to control her anger.

Oliver moved towards her like a predator, he had her trapped between the door and him.

"You will not raise your voice towards me." He told her in a low growl. She gulped nervously.

"Hey you are here." Sara approached her, Sara had been conversing with Diggle when she heard someone yelling. She came to check on the commotion. Oliver moved away from her, she sighed in relief.

Felicity looked at her blankly, her cheeks were slightly flushed in embarrassment.

"Come on let's go." Sara pulled her away from Oliver and towards her seat.

She tried to tell herself that everything was going to be alright, she was going back Starling city a place that was home. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as she making it out to be.

She closed her eyes to get some sleep, she was about to be hit by hurricane Donna once she found out that she had broken it off with Ray. She loved him like a son.

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